As is common knowledge, hospitals do not involve any production process like industries. However, the various activities in the hospital do involve a fair amount of physical risk necessitating employment of risk management techniques. The focus in the hospital being on caring for peo¬ple and healing them, most of the loss prevention measures required for fire protection relate to protecting people. Furthermore, the hygiene and cleanliness required to treat patients determines the fire protection. In view of the same, property damage exposure arising from fire and other perils is not the focus of attention in most hospitals.

The operational procedures can be structured according to the essential departments and functional units of a hospital.

Administration

Supply and disposal (e.g.: electrical power, water, heat, waste)

Technical department, workshops (e.g.: metal, electrical engineering, medical equipment, workshops)

Laundry

Storage

Pharmacy

Archive

Kitchen

Cafeteria, Shops

Laboratory

Outpatient clinic, emergency admittance, bed-ridden patients

Diagnosis (examination rooms, X-ray, nuclear spin, computer tomographs, ultra sound, etc.)

Bed wing (typical wards)

Operating area/anaesthesiology

Intensive-care ward

Physiotherapy/gymnastics

Nuclear medicine, radiology